Redwoods in Redwood National Park

Lost Monarch Coast Redwood | #1 Largest

Continued from: Coast Redwoods

Copyright 2009 - 2011 by Mario Vaden

Lost Monarch is the largest known coast redwood known in the world. Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park. When first discovered by Prof. Steve Sillett and Michael Taylor in May, 1998, its trunk measured 26' diameter at chest high, dbh, wider than General Sherman the largest Giant Sequoia, although the General has more wood volume. The trunk below is as wide as 4 automobiles placed side by side. This is my brother Michael next to the redwood. Lost Monarch's lowest twigs almost touch the ground.


Giant Redwood Lost Monarch in Grove of Titans

The 2009 dimensions were: 321.5' or 98 meters tall and 26' diameter. The wood volume measured at 42,500 cubic feet.

Robert Van Pelt wrote that the Del Norte Titan is larger as a single stem redwood. And when Steve Sillett climbed Lost Monarch to measure, he included a basal sprout trunk. Its genetically identical, connected to the trunk and roots. Since its all one redwood, this is still the largest living coast redwood.

There's been some scuttlebutt that Prof. Sillett observed branches in the crown above 200 feet having been killed by a forest fire in the past. And that many new branches sprouted from the main stem, indicating the crown as it exists now, came from epicormic sprouts. But I recall asking Sillett about that, and that's not exactly the case.

The base of the tree is nearly 30' wide. Researcher Dr. Van Pelt described it as "vaulting" out of the earth like a "volcano" Some of the roots are visible almost 100 feet away in boggy soil near it. Like El Viejo del Norte and Del Norte Titan, Lost Monarch is located in the forest on the opposite side of the Smith River from the campground: although, a couple of thousand acres in a 10,000 acre park is a pretty big hiding place.

This has been a challenging redwood for me to get photographs for. Thick vegetation blocks the view from almost every side as far as the base goes. And the best spot for a tripod with a line of sight to the base is not very close: takes two people or a remote that can signal a couple of hundred feet. Arco Giant redwood has been like that too.